


I Know Better Than To Let You Go

by purpleinkblot



Category: DA:O - Fandom, DAO - Fandom, Dragon Age, Dragon Age Origins
Genre: Bonding, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, angst with happy ending, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2018-06-25
Packaged: 2019-05-28 14:11:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15050873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purpleinkblot/pseuds/purpleinkblot
Summary: When Zevran breaks the Warden's heart with his gift, Morrigan steps in. A cute ficlet about Surana and Morrigan's growing sisterhood.





	I Know Better Than To Let You Go

**Author's Note:**

  * For [amolegere](https://archiveofourown.org/users/amolegere/gifts).



> Commission for rsuranas on tumblr. Rebloggable version here: https://marabrosca.tumblr.com/post/175248506449/i-know-better-than-to-let-you-go-commission-fic

The changes had begun long before the Warden noticed them. They hadn’t started when Rhian sat in her tent alone, holding a pillow close to her chest in defeated heartbreak. It hadn’t started when she avoided Zevran, and started taking anyone else with her away from camp. It hadn’t started when she began to notice that when Morrigan’s barrier was cast on them during battle, her spell just so happened to miss the assassin. Or when the injuries were severe and health poultices were gone, Morrigan only managed to supply enough mana to heal everyone except Zevran.

No, this had all started with that book. The old, leathery book that was bound in twisted branch patterns, and radiated the smell of cinders from Rhian’s hands, is what started the changes. Since then, Rhian saw Morrigan’s eyes melt in a way they never had, and she spoke quietly to her. She called her a novel experience- a friend, a sister. The elf’s heart leapt from her chest at the declaration, as the witch’s heart was becoming something new as well.

Since then the mages were often joined at the hip, even if Morrigan denied it upon Leliana’s teasing. Rhian felt a special bond growing between them, something that felt earned and special.

Then one night, seemingly from the blue, Zevran approached her with a gift. It was a gift of gratitude, he claimed. He offered a token of appreciation and loyalty, and nothing else. Rhian grasped in the dark for a deeper meaning, and not only was she refused, but scorned. That was when she began to spend her fleeting hours of peace alone. Shortly after a few days passed, Morrigan approached her just as the elf had finished her dinner, smoothly striding across the grass directly to her friend.

“Warden, I wish to have a word with you.” The witch stated, fingers entwined, stopping in front of her tent.

“Of course. What do you want to talk about?”

“I do not wish to speak here. Come, walk with me so we may be away from prying ears.” Morrigan replied, gesturing to the thick woods parallel to their camp.

“Don’t go,” Alistair spoke up from the fire “she wants to get you alone so she can hypnotize you. Or turn you into a rabbit and eat you.”

“If there is anyone I would wish to hypnotize, Alistair, you would be my first choice. At least possessing you would mean we could go a night or two without listening to your incessant humor, or mouth-breathing. Though you need not worry about being devoured; as I imagine eating you would cause one to become deathly ill.” Morrigan retorted without missing a beat.

Zevran chuckled from his tent, and Morrigan shot him a sharp look from across the fire. Rhian didn’t bother to look up at him, instead walking into the shrubbery with the other mage in tow.

 

The forest was pitch black aside from the glowing orb Morrigan had summoned on their trail. It unnerved Rhian to be unaware of her surroundings, as she had a hard time seeing even in daylight. Morrigan peered down at her, brightening the light over her hesitant movements.

“Do not be so frightened. Nothing will attempt to harm us here.” Morrigan assured with more confidence than the elf was willing to believe. The witch walked forward through the night, with no sense of alertness or fear to be had. Rhian broke the silence to settle her nerves.

“You said you turned into animals often when you were a child. Are you able to sense what creatures are out here because of that?”

“Becoming a beast does not make you omniscient.”

The answer did nothing to assure Rhian, so she stepped closer to the other mage and her hypnotizing glow. But she smiled suddenly, turning to her.

“Oh, I always wondered; can you turn into a giant bird like Flemeth? Or a dragon?!” Rhian asked almost too excitedly, her black eyes lighting up.

Morrigan let out a quiet laugh, and Rhian almost didn’t catch the rare expression before receiving her answer.

“I have never attempted such a form, for I see no use in it. My reason for such transformations was to hide in plain sight, amongst the wilderness and the village. I use them to observe and become part of the world around me, so I may study them at a safe distance. To become a giant, flying creature –such as Mother prefers- would be counterintuitive. She always had a flare for the dramatic.”

Rhian pouted, disappointed she wouldn’t be getting a ride on a mythical beast into the starry sky. But she enjoyed the witch’s presence nonetheless, trailing beside her along the shimmering river that glittered with her light.

“And that’s what you always did?” the elf questioned “weren’t you lonely?”

“Loneliness was a luxury; it was not as you know it. When the greatest thing you have to fear lies within your own sanctuary, it does not act as a loss. It is a relief to grow amongst your own terms without feeling the anticipation of anger…or amusement.”

“I think I do know how that feels, a little.” Rhian replied, crushing down memories of the Circle before they ruined her night. She stopped suddenly when Morrigan turned to her.

“You are not in a place of isolation any longer. Danger may well be around us, but you do not have to go through perils alone…darkspawn or otherwise.”

Rhian paused for a minute, registering the woman’s words.

“Is this about Zevran?”

“It is about _you_. I was aware of the Crow’s intention from the beginning, but you are far too trusting. I knew one day he would turn his back on you, but I was not expecting it to be so personal.” Rhian’s eyes fell to the ground, and she held back the need to cry.

“To be given the mercy of his life by the very target he failed to erase, only to string you along? He is far more arrogant than I gave him credit for- though I am not surprised. Tis a man’s nature.”

“He didn’t string me along, he…I guess I was just feeling more about us, our thing than he was.” The elf sniffled, rubbing her nose with her sleeve.

Morrigan abandoned the orb to levitate in the air beside her, placing a hand on Rhian’s shoulders, eyes piercing hers. “I am not versed in expressing my concerns to others; but you need not hide to deal with your sorrows alone. I will not let a man make you feel as though you are not deserving of affection. Do not be afraid to speak with me. There is much else in the world with value than someone who is not worthy of you.”

Rhian’s cheeks dampened with tears and the crisp wind in the air, heart filling with both loss and relief. She opened her arms, a grasp in the dark once more, a silent plea. Morrigan embraced her, for the first time, a foreign gesture the witch would offer to no one else. She could feel the shorter mage smile against her, whispering a thank you barely heard over her muffled face.

Morrigan allowed Rhian to stay there as long as she needed, admittedly less than comfortable, but with a feeling of accomplishment. The elf lifted her head, a quirked smile on her lips, distracting from her swollen eyes.

“Hey, you said you didn’t want to be a bird or a dragon, but you fought with us as a giant spider. I guess your mother’s not the only one with a _flare for the dramatic_.”

Morrigan’s mouth gaped, offended by the comparison, sending Rhian into a fit of giggles.

“That is not the same thing!”

“Sure it isn’t.”

“Certainly not! I do not parade myself as display of power.”

“You're telling me a giant spider isn’t showing off?”

Morrigan huffed, and Rhian laughed as she pulled away, gathering her composure. She was still feeling the weight of sadness in her chest, as it displayed itself on her face.

“Come,” Morrigan faced the path ahead “was there not a question you had for me a few days ago?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah there was! When you lived in the Wilds, did the trees ever move?”

“Did the trees…ever move?”

“Or talk to you? When I was in the Brecilian Forest, there were these magic trees that would…”

Rhian recalled her memories of the Dalish camp and the werewolves to Morrigan as they moved farther away from the camp, leaving her troubles behind with it.

**Author's Note:**

> FANFIC COMMISSIONS ARE OPEN if you're interested here's more info: https://marabrosca.tumblr.com/post/175160160009/opening-da-fic-commissions


End file.
